IOSR Journal of Sports and Physical Education (IOSR-JSPE)

e-ISSN: 2347-6737, p-ISSN: 2347-6745, Volume 3, Issue 3 (May. – Jun. 2016), PP 45-48

www.iosrjournals.org

DOI: 10.9790/6737-03034548 www.iosrjournals.org 45 | Page

Barriers to Providing Quality Physical Education in

Primary Schools in Ghana

Seidu Sofo1 and Eugene F. Asola

2

1Professor, Department of Health, Human Performance & Recreation, Southeast Missouri State University,

USA 2Assistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology & Physical Education, Valdosta State University, USA

Abstract : The goal of physical education (PE) is to develop physically literate individuals to pursue a lifetime

of healthful physical activity. Schools in Ghana, like other sub-Saharan African countries, do not implement

their PE programs in accordance to policy. Thus, it is important to identify those factors that prevent schools

from delivering quality PE. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to examine what primary school

teachers in Ghana perceived as barriers to teaching PE. Participants were 296 primary school teachers

purposively selected from four regions of Ghana. An 11-item 5-point Likert-type questionnaire served as the

data source. The study utilized descriptive and inferential statistical tools for data analysis. Results revealed

four major barriers to teaching PE: lack of resources such as teacher’s guide, lack of time, lack of support from

other teachers and lack of adequate training. Independent t-Test showed that gender significantly influenced

teachers’ perception of barriers to teaching PE, while school type did not. One-Way ANOVA showed that

professional qualification influenced the teachers’ perceptions about the importance of PE.

Keywords: Barriers, Ghana, physical education, teachers

I. Introduction The goal of physical education (PE), according to [1], is to develop physically literate individuals to

pursue a lifetime of healthful physical activity by helping them acquire the requisite knowledge and skills.

Sports and PE contexts provide children with experiences that allow them to cope with challenges they face

across the lifespan [2]. Research indicates that physical activity benefits health and contributes to academic

performance [3], as a result of better cognitive functioning [4]. Researchers, for example [5], noted that

physical activity in early life optimizes brain functions that involve memory and influences individual’s learning

capability throughout the life span. Sedentary behaviors are associated with chronic but preventable diseases

such as obesity, coronary diseases, and diabetes [6].

Physical activity also improves self-esteem and reduces anxiety and stress among individuals [7].

Childhood obesity is one cause of anxiety among school children. Obese children are systematically

discriminated against; as a result, they tend to develop a negative self-image that appears to persist into

adulthood [8]. The fight against childhood obesity should be a concern for schools, since there is high

probability for obese children to continue to be obese as adults [9]. The [10] recommends at least 60 minutes of

moderate to vigorous physical activity a day for young children. Physical activity for children includes ―play,

games, sports, transportation, recreation, physical education, or planned exercise, in the context of family,

school and community activities‖ [10:20]. School PE can play a vital role in achieving the recommended

amounts of physical activity. However, in a global survey of the situation of PE in schools, [11] observed that

the sports dominated nature of PE in many countries runs counter to achieving this goal. Furthermore, research

indicates that most children do not accrue sufficient amounts of moderate to vigorous physical activity [12, 13].

Major goals of primary school PE in Ghana are to help students to develop their personal health, moral and

social capabilities, and self-confidence [14]. The Ministry of Education Science and Sports (MOESS, 2007)

noted the role PE can play towards academic work and the improvement of the general health of the community

[14]. Some scholars and researchers have lamented that the early years are important for developing

fundamental motor skills that, in turn, contribute to the optimal development of physical capacities, yet only

60% of African countries actually implemented their PE programs in accordance with policy [11]. In Ghana, for

example, successive governments have not demonstrated total commitment to PE as a school subject [15].

Major barriers to providing PE in schools are classified as institutional or teacher-related [16]. They defined

institutional barriers as those factors that are beyond teachers’ control, while teacher-related barriers result from

teachers’ behaviors. In addition, student-related barriers have been shown to inhibit the delivery of quality PE

[17 18]. Examples of institutional barriers include lack of time, marginalization of the subject, timetabling, and

lack of resources. Lack of training and confidence are some teacher-related barriers to teaching PE. Lack of

student interest and motivation are student-related factors that often impede the teaching of PE [17, 19]. In

Ghana, non-specialist classroom teachers are responsible for teaching primary PE. Some barriers to teaching

Barriers to Providing Quality Physical Education in Primary Schools in Ghana

DOI: 10.9790/6737-03034548 www.iosrjournals.org 46 | Page

primary physical education in Ghana include: lack of qualified personnel, lack of time, marginalization of the

subject, and inadequate facilities/equipment [15]. More research is needed to unearth other reasons that might

prevent Ghanaian primary school teachers from providing quality PE to their students.

Purposes of the Study

The purpose of the study was to examine what primary school teachers in Ghana perceived as barriers

to teaching PE. The PE program has the opportunity to make the most impact on students’ physical activity

levels, since it is the only component of the school program that offers physical activity experiences [20]. Thus,

it is important to identify those factors that serve as barriers to teaching PE, only then can teachers and

educational administrators formulate strategies to mitigate them.

Research Questions

The study posed three research questions in an attempt to identify the barriers to teaching PE in Ghanaian

primary schools:

1. What do primary school teachers perceive to be the barriers to teaching physical education in Ghana?

2. Do gender and school type influence primary school teachers’ perceived barriers to teaching physical

education in Ghana?

3. Does professional qualification influence what Ghanaian primary school teachers perceive as barriers to

teaching physical education?

Participants

Participants included a purposive sample of 296 primary (P1-P6) school teachers from four regions of

Ghana: Greater-Accra, Northern, Upper East, and Upper West regions. The sample consisted of 49.7% male and

50.3% female, with teaching experience ranging from one to 33 years (M=8.7; SD=7.5).

II. Method Instrument

The current study utilized a questionnaire that was adapted from [21] study on the barriers to teaching

physical activity in Ghanaian kindergarten classrooms. The questionnaire used by [21] was based on extant

literature on barriers to teaching PE, for example [17]. The items were rephrased to pertain to primary physical

education. The questionnaire was an 11-item 5-point Likert scale. The questionnaire consisted of 11 items

(perceived barriers) in addition to biographical information including gender, teaching experience, class taught,

and professional qualification. Participants indicated the extent to which they agreed or disagreed to each of the

11 statements by checking the appropriate box for strongly agree (5), agree (4), neutral (3), disagree (2) or

strongly disagree (1). Thus, a high rating (5 or 4) meant that respondents viewed the questionnaire item to be a

major barrier, while a low rating (2 or 1) for an item meant the item was not perceived as a barrier to teaching

movement and physical activity. The questionnaire had a Cronbach’s Alpha of .738.

Data Analysis Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. First, frequency counts and percentages

of teachers’ responses for each item were computed. Second, using the overall mean scores, Independent t-Test

analyses were conducted for gender and school type. Third, One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) tests,

with Bonferroni Post-Hoc follow-up, were conducted for professional qualification, using the overall mean

scores and the mean score for each questionnaire item. The SPSS Version 23.0 software [22] was used for all

analyses.

III. Results Perceived Barriers

The first research question examined what the primary school teachers perceived to be the barriers to

teaching physical education. The teachers in the present study identified lack of resources, lack of enough class

time, lack of support from other teachers, and lack of adequate training as the major barriers to teaching physical

education. Table 1 shows that 63.2% of the teachers strongly agreed or agreed that lack of resources such as

teacher’s guide served as a major barrier to teaching physical education to their students, followed by lack of

adequate time for the subject (59.7%). Similarly, 49.5% and 48.4% believed lack of support from other teachers

and lack of adequate training respectively hindered their ability to teach physical education. On a positive note,

most of the teachers (88.7%) in the present study strongly disagreed or disagreed with the statement that

physical education is not an important subject. Also, they did not agree that students were not interested in

physical education (84.2%). In addition, they did not agree that physical education will make them sweaty

(82.2) % and they did not use time for physical education to teach other subjects (82.2%).

Barriers to Providing Quality Physical Education in Primary Schools in Ghana

DOI: 10.9790/6737-03034548 www.iosrjournals.org 47 | Page

Gender, school type and perceived barriers The second research question sought to determine if gender and school type influenced the teachers’

perception of barriers to teaching PE. Data in Table 2 indicated that the overall mean score difference for gender

was significant, while that of school type was not. Male teachers (M = 2.70) were more likely than their female

counterparts (M = 2.51) to perceive the statements on the questionnaire as major barriers to teaching PE.

Professional Qualification and Perceived Barriers

The third research question examined the influence of professional qualification on what teachers

perceived as barriers to teaching PE. Table 3 presents One-Way ANOVA data for overall mean score and the

mean score for each item. Only the mean differences for the item ―PE is not an important subject‖ was

significant. The multiple comparison showed a significant mean difference for teachers with a bachelor’s degree

(3.15) and those with a post-secondary certificate ―A‖ (2.92). That is, teachers with a bachelor’s degree, more

likely than those with a post-secondary certificate A viewed PE not to be an important subject. Those for the

other 10 items and the overall mean score for the entire questionnaire were not significant.

IV. Tables Table 1: Frequency counts and percentages for perceived barriers (n = 296)

Barrier Strongly Agree/Agree Neutral Disagree/Strongly Disagree

f % f % f %

1. Not enough class time for PE 175 59.7 44 15.0 74 25.3

2. Lack of adequate training 142 48.4 32 10.9 119 40.6

3. Students are not interested 20 6.9 26 8.9 246 84.2

4. PE is not important 18 6.2 15 5.1 260 88.7

5. Lack required physical fitness 45 15.4 29 9.9 219 74.7

6. Don’t have enough resources 185 63.2 42 14.3 66 22.6

7. PE specialist’s responsibility 67 22.9 26 8.9 200 68.3

8. No support from other teachers 145 49.5 46 15.7 102 34.9

9. No support from headteacher 92 31.5 67 22.9 266 45.6

10. I will be sweaty and smelly 33 11.2 19 6.5 241 82.2

11. Time used for other subjects 33 11.2 19 6.5 241 82.2

Table 2: Independent t-Test Analyses for gender, school type, and perceived barrier (n = 296)

*p < .05

Table 3: One-Way ANOVA for professional qualification and perceived barriers for each questionnaire item

*p < .05

V. Discussion and Conclusions The current study surveyed primary school teachers in Ghana about what they perceived as barriers to

teaching PE. Four major findings from the study are worth discussing. First, the perceived barrier identified by

most of the teachers was lack of resources such as teacher’s guide/manual. This finding is consistent with

previous studies on barriers to teaching PE in Africa [11] and Ghana [21]. A similar percentage (62%) of

kindergarten teachers in Ghana also identified lack of resources as a major barrier to teaching movement and

physical activity [21]. Primary school teachers are non-specialists— they need resources such as teacher’s

Category Overall Mean Score t-value

M SD t P

Gender

Male 2.70 .63 2.46 .015*

Female 2.51 .67

School Type

Public 2.61 .67 .21 .830

Private 2.59 .55

Barriers to Providing Quality Physical Education in Primary Schools in Ghana

DOI: 10.9790/6737-03034548 www.iosrjournals.org 48 | Page

guides and manuals on how to deliver quality PE to their students. These resources, in addition to regular

inservice training, would help classroom teachers develop confidence, effective instructional strategies and

practices for teaching PE. Second, male teachers were more likely than female teachers to perceive the

statements on the questionnaire as major barriers to teaching PE. This is inconsistent with a previous study [21]

that found no significant gender differences in kindergarten teachers’ perceptions of barriers to teaching

movement and physical activity. The sport-oriented nature of the primary PE [11] curriculum may explain the

tendency for male teachers to focus on sports, rather than instructional PE. Consequently, they would more

likely perceive issues relating to the regular PE class as barriers. Third, the perceived barriers to teaching PE

between teachers in public and those in private primary schools were similar. With opportunities of better

logistics and personnel from government, authors of the current study expected teachers in private schools to

encounter more barriers than their peers in public schools. During the 2013/2014 academic year, for example, a

little over seven percent of teachers in private schools were trained, while public schools had over 70% trained

teachers [23]. Finally, professional qualification influenced teachers’ views of the importance of PE as a school

subject. This finding is consistent with the research that PE is a marginalized subject [11, 15]. Participants with

a Bachelor’s degree were more likely than those with a Post-Secondary Certificate ―A‖ to perceive more

barriers in teaching PE.

The present study replicated the use of a forced-choice survey instrument [21], and therefore did not

examine why and how those perceived barriers impacted the teaching of PE. The use of open-ended

questionnaires or interviews would allow future researchers to have better insight into why and how the

perceived barriers influence the quality of PE in Ghanaian primary schools. The use of observation as a data

collection tool would also provide information on the quality of PE in the primary classrooms [21]. It would also

allow future research determine first-hand, the extent to which each barrier impacts student outcomes in PE.

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